Chapter 63 Battle of San Jacinto
April 21, 1836.
San Jacinto, Texas, United States.
Historically, in San Jacinto, the Texan army led by the American settler businessman Sam Houston defeated the Mexican army of Tasan Anna in just eighteen minutes.
In this battle, Sam Houston used 800 troops to raid 3,000 Mexican troops, causing the Mexican army to lose more than 700 people. Only 11 of his own troops were killed. It can be called the Xiaoyaojin of North America, but Zhang Babai and Sun Shiwan were replaced by Sam Houston and Tasan Anna.
Perhaps it was a coincidence of history that after the Battle of the Alamo, Tasan Anna completely wiped out the remaining Texan forces around San Antonio, and then decided to head north.
This day happened to be April 21, 1836.
Tasan Anna received reinforcements from Mexico, and the total strength has reached 12,000, but 4,000 troops need to be left to garrison San Antonio to prevent their retreat from being cut off.
A Comanche tribe was bribed by the Americans, and Tasan Anna sent an army of 2,000 men to teach them an unforgettable lesson.
At the same time, according to intelligence, an American team was besieging Fort Marion.
As long as you are an officer, you can tell that this is definitely a plan by the Americans to divert the tiger away from the mountain.
Both Gablenz and Stadion felt that they should abandon Fortress Marion and go directly north to besiege Austin.
In this way, regardless of whether the Americans were really fighting or pretending to fight, they would have to return to aid Austin.
Because once Austin falls, the Americans' retreat will be completely cut off, and only one fortress, Dallas, will be left in the north.
In this way, the initiative in the war rests with Mexico. When the time comes, it will not be up to the Americans whether to encircle the point for reinforcements or to increase troops for siege.
After listening to the suggestions of the two generals, Tasan Anna decided to send the main force to Marion to relieve the siege, while he led his troops to find a place to camp first.
One is that the weather is too hot, and the other is that Archduke Franz Karl suggested that we should stay strong and fight stupidly.
Franz was not in Mexico, and his understanding of military affairs may not be very deep, but he only knew this period of history, and he firmly believed that the raid was a conspiracy.
In fact, it was the Mexicans who betrayed Tasan Anna. There were many factions in Mexico. Some people were dissatisfied with Tasan Anna, so they revealed Tasan Anna's combat plan to Sam Houston and used a false intelligence to lure him. Take away Tasan Anna's 3,000 main force.
At this time, Tasan Anna only had 2,500 Mexican soldiers, 200 temporarily recruited Texans, and 300 black soldiers.
Tasan Anna followed Franz's suggestion and issued the Emancipation Proclamation, but he still hated black slaves. The three hundred black soldiers were only allocated 150 guns and some cold weapons.
But the black soldiers did not complain and still worshiped Tasan Anna as a savior.
Sam Houston led 800 Texans to ambush Tasan Anna's camp. He was waiting for a signal. The person who sold him the intelligence promised to burn the bridge to cut off Tasan Anna's retreat.
"Mr. Houston, are we going to die?" Jimmy, the recruit, asked.
Jimmy was a young Texas volunteer. He was originally a horse wrangler. One day, several fellow Americans came to his farm and said that the Mexicans would snatch away all his horses and confiscate his horses. Jimmy was very angry and joined the Texas Army with a gun despite his mother's obstruction.
Jimmy had killed people, and there had been some Indians who were always wandering near his family's ranch and claimed that his family's land belonged to the Indians.
So Jimmy's father hired some cowboys to exterminate the Indian tribe.
Jimmy was also present. When he saw an old Indian man and planned to jump into the river to escape, he pulled the trigger. The old man fell by the river. Jimmy's hunting dog excitedly rushed forward to bite the prey.
Jimmy's father saw Jimmy knocking down an Indian with a gun and excitedly handed Jimmy a knife.
"Jimmy, scalp him like a man with this."
Jimmy took his father's knife and grabbed the Indian's hair
Jimmy's father used Jimmy's trophies to make a pair of boots for him and gave them to Jimmy as a birthday present.
But Jimmy, who was on the battlefield for the first time, still couldn't stop shaking his hands.
Houston looked at the recruit in front of him who had yet to grow a full beard, smiled, and kissed the child's forehead.
"All men are destined to die, but it will not be us who die today. Don't worry, my child, God is with us."
"Are the ancestors of Mexicans all criminals and Indians? Mr. Houston." Jimmy asked.
“No, but Mexico does have a lot of mestizos.”
"Where are those black slaves?" Jimmy pointed to the black troops at the edge of the camp.
“They were our property, taken away from us by Mexico’s shameless dictator, and we, Texans, fought to protect our property and our freedom.”
Suddenly, a fire broke out on the bridge, and there was a commotion in Tasan Anna's military camp. The soldiers were at a loss. Some were putting out the fire, while others were running around aimlessly.
Tasan Anna was making out with his mistress, Miss Jenny, in his tent at this time. After serving in the Mexican Army for many years, he had long been accustomed to this kind of messy situation, so he just yelled at the adjutant outside.
"Kamare, go see what's going on? Tell them to shut up!"
Gablenz and Stadion tried to stop the chaos, but their Spanish was poor and the Mexican soldiers were completely disobedient. At this moment they saw Camare.
"General Camare, you are here just in time. Let them stop and put out the fire. Otherwise, the bridge will be burned and it will be difficult for the army to supply."
Kamare nodded, understanding the importance of this bridge, and drew his pistol.
"Bang! Bang!"
"Stop it!" Before Kamare could finish his words, he heard a gunshot and a bullet hit Kamare.
Camare covered his chest in disbelief, and the surrounding soldiers looked at each other. At this moment, more bullets were fired, and several Mexican soldiers who were still in place were knocked down.
A shell exploded in the air, and the scattered projectiles caused a bloody storm in the camp.
The fallen soldiers smashed the campfire and soon ignited the surrounding tents, making the Mexican army even more chaotic.
Houston seized the opportunity, knowing that this battle would go down in history.
"For freedom! For our land! Charge!"
Houston's Texan army was overwhelming and quickly broke through the Mexican army's defense line. They were less than 200 meters away from Tasan Anna's tent.
While the Mexican army was fleeing, a group of black soldiers blocked Houston's Texan army with their flesh and blood.
Most of these black soldiers were liberated slaves. They had only received simple training, and many of them even shot their rifles randomly as if they were magic.
However, these black soldiers resisted the Texan attack with amazing courage.
Houston knew the opportunity to end the war was at hand, and he had to do whatever it took.
"Brothers! Tasang Anna is right in front, rush with me!"
The black slaves on the opposite side kept roaring and rushed towards the Texan army.
The black soldiers launched a desperate charge, slowing down the Texans and buying time for Gablenz and Stadion to regroup.
Facing the Mexican army that began to counterattack, Houston had no choice but to retreat.
At this time, a person hugged his thigh. It was Jimmy. His foot was injured.
"Mr. Houston, please, help me."
Houston looked at Jimmy who was lying on the ground, and then at the surrounding Mexican troops. He hit Jimmy in the face with the butt of his rifle and fled with his troops.
Historically, Houston captured Tasan Anna at the cost of eleven men, thus ending the Battle of Texas and establishing the United States' century-old psychological advantage over Mexico.
However, three hundred black soldiers changed history with their lives.
The Texas Army lost less than 200 people in this battle, causing nearly a thousand casualties of the Mexican Army and burning countless Mexican baggage. The black soldiers paid a huge price. Only 23 people from the three companies survived. .